1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a direction guiding apparatus and a direction guiding method, and more particularly to a direction guiding apparatus and a direction guiding method for indicating and guiding, for example, a traveling direction by tactile sense.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a typical method used for direction guidance, there is, for example, a navigation method using GPS (Global Positioning System). For example, this method typically relies on the sense of sight or hearing by displaying guidance on a display apparatus or announcing guidance through an audio apparatus.
However, guidance of directions using the sense of touch (i.e. tactile sense) can be conveyed more intuitively. As for apparatuses which convey advancing directions by using tactile sense, there are, for example, an apparatus for intuitively comprehensively conveying guidance of directions by using sense of force (force-sensitive apparatus), an apparatus using tactile sense for transmitting information of rotary movement or reciprocal movement with a contactor, or an apparatus activating a tactile-sense-surface for suggesting advancing directions to the user (For example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 2004-177360, 2005-352258, and 2000-352521).
Nevertheless, with the conventional apparatuses using tactile sense, the guided advancing direction and the direction opposite to the guided advancing direction cannot be clearly distinguished. The guided advancing direction could be recognized more reliably if the guided advancing direction and the direction opposite to the guided advancing direction could be distinguished.